Bella's POV
I hung up the phone shocked. Jessica had called me with some stunning news, and stunned I was, I just stood there frozen my mind going a million miles an hour. I had to tell Edward, but it had to be in person. I grabbed a jacket and went out to my truck.
On the drive over I tried to think of a gentle way to break the news, but nothing was coming to me. I pulled up in front of the Cullen's house. I went to ring the bell, but Emmett opened it before my finger reached the buzzer.
"Hey there future sister in law." He greeted me. "Wait till you see this." And he led me into the dining room. The Cullens kept a large table there, but it was used for family meetings instead of dining. I thought perhaps the news was already out and they would all be gathered around it in discussion, but as we turned the corner it was quite a different sight that met my eyes.
Edward was perched standing on one of the chairs with a look of pure concentration on his face as he attempted to place a playing card atop a 9 story card house in the center of the table. Alice looked on apparently holding her breath.
"Holy crow." I said. Vampires have to fill every 24 hours of every day and apparently go to extremes when bored. "Edward…." I whispered trying to get his attention.
"Not now, Bella. This is a crucial moment." Alice scolded me. She was taking this very seriously, which meant a wager of mass proportion. Emmett just snickered in the background, but added, "What is it Squirt?"
The news concerned all of the Cullens after all, and I couldn't hold it in any longer so I turned to Emmett. "Jessica Stanley called me." I began. Emmett shrugged and I continued. "Her little sister, Shannon was talking with her friends at school and she said that she had heard that Kristi Smith turned down an invitation from Jason Wright to the Valentine's Day school dance because she was already going….with Edward Cullen." I blurted out.
That's when the card house crumbled to the ground.
Edward's POV
It had only been 5 weeks since I paid that girl off at the mini mart. How dare she!?!
I stood there looking like an idiot with a six of hearts in my hand stretched over the table where the top floor of a card skyscraper stood a moment before. I had flinched when Bella made her amazing announcement and my elbow hit the corner of the 6th floor.
I jumped down from the chair to join my siblings who had their mouths hanging open. "What could you possibly mean by that?" I asked Bella sounding too intense, and I instantly regretted my tone with her.
"Isn't it obvious?" Alice chimed in. "Kristi knows you'd do anything to keep your dirty little secret. To a school girl like her to have a hunk like you take her to the dance in front of all her friends would be a dream come true."
"I practically threatened her with bodily violence if she EVER contacted me again." I was dumbfounded by her actions.
Alice shook her head. "You have to think like a 15 year old girl. It's worth any kind of danger to her to make this happen. I take it she hasn't asked you yet?" She said with a smirk.
"NO!" I started pacing the floor. Bella simply watched it all happen. What was she thinking?
"Maybe we should make a mail run; your invitation is probably just sitting there written on pink stationary." Emmett cooed.
"Not helping big brother." I told him, but he was right. Carlisle was due home in an hour, and it was mail day. We'd just wait and see. Bella was biting her lip in concentration. What kind of plan was forming there? "Bella?" I asked her thoughts again.
"It's like Alice said, she wants Edward the hunk to take her to the dance. What if you could get, I don't know, toned down some, nerded out a bit and let her see you like that, maybe she 'd change her mind?" Emmett cracked up. Alice just put a big grin on her face. Good god, why did I ever save that girl in the first place?
Ninety minutes later we had proof positive in our hands when Carlisle returned home with the mail. I had been officially invited, no, more like summoned to escort Kristi to the school dance in a week's time. I was even to pick her up at her house and not to be late or she may have to phone Sherriff Swan in concern for my safety. I was fuming.
Alice took my hand, and Bella took the other and led me up the stairs. "Come on we'll make Kristi rue the day she ever wanted to be seen in public with you." Squeaked Alice. "And you won't contact her until you pick her up at her house, let her sweat it out." Emmett trailed behind us not wanting to miss the show.